Tricycle Blog

This is a guest post by Lama Surya Das (that was supposed to be published before Thanksgiving.)
As the holydays start coming upon us, fast and furious, I like to turn back to spiritual readings and teachings to refresh and remind me what it's all about. Of course, having been called the 'Ocean of Questions,' I like to start with questions and then live mindfully into them. So first my HolyDay questions: What is this really all about? Why are we here? What are we doing? And what is important and really matters? Aren't these all part of life's big questions, anyway?
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Danny Fisher alerts us to the protests at Bodh Gaya -- protests against the Myanamar junta, that is. There is a strong Burmese presence in Bodh Gaya, Burma being not so far away. (Since the monks mentioned are wearing yellow, not red, they are more likely to be Sri Lankan, perhaps, than Burmese.)
Beautiful account (plus photos!) of a visit to Korea on the always entertaining Dreaming of Danzan Ravjaa.
Our friends at Tibet House are teaming up with Christie's for an auction on December 5th. What's up for grabs? Works by Donald Baechler, Lynn Davis and Annie Leibovitz, exotic trips and a guitar autographed by Dave Matthews.
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Why is atheism so hot right now? The Nation's Katha Pollitt:
There's no question in my mind that horror at militant Islam and fear of Muslim immigration lie behind at least some of the current vogue for atheism--you don't make the bestseller list by excoriating the evils of Lutheranism or Buddhism. The problem is that the more scorn one feels for religious belief, the less able one is to appreciate "reformed" or "moderate" variants of the faith. After all, pro-gay Episcopalians and liberation theology Catholics still believe in Christ, the afterlife, sin; reformed Jews still find wisdom in the Old Testament. Strictly speaking, an atheist should have no truck with any of it. But if all you can offer people is reasons to quit their religion--which also often means their community, their family, their support system and their identity--you're not going to have many takers.
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This NYT blog post on the stem cell debate -- and various other issues where religious warriors wade into deep water to do battle with the krakens of science -- caught my eye. Among other things, a commentor suggests scientism, a word I'm fond of, is invented by the right (like "Islamofascism"):
Alas for the Christians, who have had to fight a mighty, mostly losing battle with scientists. The last ditch effort, creating a new word, scientism, for a general ad hominem is pretty lame. Perhaps they should switch to Buddhism, in which the conflicts are rare.
- Philip Ryan, Web Editor
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Our friends at Metta Forest Monastery, whose buildings and grounds were spared by the terrible September October fires in southern California, have not been so lucky with their website. Their site is down and it might be nice for some web-savvy friendly Buddhist webmaster-type in southern California to lend a hand. Their contact information is here. I visited Metta Forest a while ago and had a wonderful time. So why aren't I living there as a renunciate and earning merit for you all? Sigh.
BURMA: Blood rubies, bloodshed, kleptocratic bureaucrats, monks bludgeoned in the streets, and now bird flu.
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This appeared in the New York Times recently (and has some bearing on a recent post here):
In other words, the laws [of physics] should have an explanation from within the universe and not involve appealing to an external agency. The specifics of that explanation are a matter for future research. But until science comes up with a testable theory of the laws of the universe, its claim to be free of faith is manifestly bogus.
- Philip Ryan, Web Editor
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The New York Times blog commented on Clark Strand's WSJ piece a while back. (See this post as well if you like.) There are many interesting comments following the NYT post: You certainly can't argue that Mr. Strand doesn't know how to ruffle some feathers. Many people seemed to miss that this was an opinion piece that appeared in the Wall Street Journal, although it's true that a related article appeared earlier in Tricycle.
It seems Brad Warner of Hardcore Zen wants a job, a good job!
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Steven Seagal is back on the Buddhist scene, visiting what is said to be Europe's largest Buddhist temple in the Russian Federation republic of Kalmykia. Most readers will remember that Seagal was recognized as a tulku by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche about ten years ago. Kalmykia itself is notable for being the only region in Europe where Buddhism is the dominant religion. Seagal is also visiting a boxing tournament in Elista, Kalmykia's capital.
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This is a guest-post from Lama Surya Das.
I have been asking people around the country about what is their big life question. Many say in return, “What do you mean?” I say—“You know, the big questions of life and death, the afterlife, God, suffering, meaning and purpose, truth, happiness, love.” And they inevitably say, “Oh, those big questions.” For everyone is familiar with them. We are all faced with these questions throughout life, as well as with the many little quandaries of daily life. How well and to what degree we attend to them varies from person to person and from decade to decade. I myself feel well endowed with the Why Chromosome.
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There's a mention of SFZC's groundbreaking restaurant Greens in this pretty photo gallery of vegetarian dining in San Francisco, and also in the related article (from the New York Times.)
Normally when we hear Pakistan and Buddhism in the same sentence, it's because Islamists have dynamited another statue. But here's a case where some villagers got together and saved a statue.
Will Smith has studied Buddhism and Hinduism and says they're no better or worse than Scientology.
Who came out on top at the recent ASEAN conference?
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Tricycle contributing editor Frank Olinsky snapped this picture of a zafu around the corner from his Brooklyn digs recently, and it seems to scream for a caption or story, doesn't it? Let us know if you come up with one!
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The cyclone that hit Bangladesh last week killed more than 3,000 people and may have left a million homeless. As sea levels rise, expect more problems like this in Bangladesh and other low-lying coastal areas (where most of the world's population lives.)
A Hollywood movie has Jesus hanging out with Buddhists and fighting the caste system in India during his "missing years" between ages 13 and 30.
ASEAN is coming under fire for their handling of the situation in Burma. U.S. Trade Representative and Bush appointee Susan Schwab said ASEAN has a "special responsibility" to make Burma comply with international calls for reform. And U.N.
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The Worst Horse finds a big collection of graphics telling us all: "Don't forget Burma!"
So, following that good advice: Burma is selling jewelry. (Burma produces 90% of the world's rubies.) Don't buy it! The junta keeps arresting people during Rapporteur Pinheiro's visit. The BBC says Burma's monks are not ready to forgive the wrongs done them by the junta.
The painting "Monks with Traits of a Crow," is shaking up Thailand, which is estimated to be 94% Buddhist. You can see the painting after the link.
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Clark Strand, a contributing editor to Tricycle, has raised some hackles with his recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, "Buddhist Boomers," which more or less follows up on his piece "Dharma Family Values" from the pages of Tricycle. Strand argues that Buddhists in America (referring primarily to converts from the Baby Boom) are getting older and Buddhist ranks are not being filled by young people. Buddhists should emulate other religions in getting children involved, he argues.
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BURMA: As Paulo Sergio Pinheiro visits Burma on behalf of the UN, a monk and a female activist were arrested in connection with the September protests. Human Rights Watch has called for a ban of all Burmese gems and jade, which together account for more than 10% of the junta's revenue.
DALAI LAMA: Speaking at the Satyagraha Conference in India, the Dalai Lama says he met Gandhi, not in this lifetime, but in a dream.
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Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the U.N. special rapporteur (it's real, look it up) to Burma visited prisons and other sensitive places in the country, according to the Bangkok Post:
The government claims that only 10 people died in the crackdown. Other sources claim the death toll was closer to 200. Up to 3,000 people were arrested during and after the crackdown, of whom an unknown number remain in jail.
One of Pinheiro's tasks is to verify the number of deaths and detentions, in a country that is notorious for hiding the truth.
Observers said Pinheiro, no stranger to Burma, had planned his itinerary well.
He was allowed to plan his itinerary? The U.N.
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As a recent arrival at Tricycle as well as a relative newcomer to Buddhism, I’ve got a fair amount of reading to catch up on. Editor-in-chief James Shaheen recommended that I check out Rick Fields’ How the Swans Came to the Lake, which offers an in-depth history of Buddhism’s role in American life. Originally published in 1981 and last updated in 1992, Swans is a (mostly) current and always relevant look at Buddhism’s roots.
In a culture saturated with pop-Eastern philosophy—toy Buddha car accessories, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and The Tao of Pooh, the now-discontinued “Om” fragrance by Gap—it’s clear that Buddhism has secured a place in the imagination of the American public. In warm, witty prose, Fields takes on the question of why and how this came to be.
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Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, set to meet with members of her opposition party for the first time in three years, is "very optimistic" about changes in Burma. She also met with Aung Kyi, a general representing the ruling junta. This is progress. The world needs to keep up pressure to keep the talks going and being about real change.
Burma isn't the only place Buddhist monks are facing trouble.
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